Sonic Lost World
Starseed Pilgrim
Super Mario 3D World
Tearaway
Teleglitch: Die More Edition
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
The Novelist
Tomb Raider
X-com: Enemy Within
Year Walk
ZiGGURAT

My inner
childs favorite games

My inner
(dualistically oriented) grown-ups favorite games

These are my favorite games as
deemed so by the intellectual within me, by the person within who
does not wish to play games only for the sake of playing them or
having fun or getting better at it or appreciating the aesthetics,
and so on. These games are games that transcend the time which I
spend with them and contribute to the dialogue I have with myself and
others concerning matters of what a good life is, what justice can
be, if love is possible, and other questions of prime importance.
There are a number of games that fit neither here or in ”the list
of my inner child”, which are those games that gameplay-wise are
very good, yet I discovered them as an adolescent (or later), and the
games which have adult themes and are very well-executed, yet do not
seem to have themes which I necessarily think I can incorporate into
my daily living, themes that do not make me remember the game in
other contexts than that of nostalgia or video game criticism.

Sequelitis

A videogame sequel begins
with most vital questions already answered. Who am I? Where can I go?
What can I do? How does the world work? What are the limits? Instead,
I only ask: What's different this time? Is it better than the last
one? Can I dual- wield? Videogame sequels traffic in features and
upgrades, keeping pace with the times, meeting fan expectations.
Their logic is that of the genre novel, of repetition with variation.
Their pleasures are those of the tweak, the nuance. They reward the
discerning palate with shades of difference. It is the death of
mystery by a thousand refinements.1

In a business where sequels
abound and the question of ”why” seems to get it's most clear
answer in fiscal numbers or notions of ”improvement” (of game
mechanics and graphics, mainly), I have great respect and derive
chunky joy from sequels which make their point of departure
meaningful, and also have producers who are gutsy enough to support
that willing departure from established sequel-conventions of ”bigger
and higher”. And sometimes, that damn sequel with improved
interface and graphics, or with more nuanced game mechanics, makes me
question why I was skeptical to the ”now made perfect” sequel in
the first place.

We
identify a series – videogame or otherwise – according to how
well it obeys the formal rules established by its predecessors, much
as we identify the next number in a numeric set according to whether
it was derived from the set's algorithm. The act of obeying those
self-made rules (along with our awareness of such obedience) becomes
a trope in itself, a behavioral habit that identifies us as consumers
of a product. By demanding the continuation of a series, an audience
can become as typecast in its desires as the product that it demands.

The
cycle of iteration creates an illusion of progress without granting
true progress – freedom from the cycle, from zero, from the set.
Think of escaping the cycle as a return to a state of Taoist p'u
– the
uncarved block that represents receptivity, passivity, and the
simplicity of beginnings. Sense cycles, repetitions of personal
behaviors, can never be permanently discarded. However, they can be
modified toward a better identity once a person, with self-awareness,
leaves that state of p'u
and tries to do – and become – something new. 2

Third place,
first outing

Castlevania:
Symphony of the Night/Super Castlevania IV

Dodonpachi

Geometry
Wars: Retro Evolved

Klonoa
2: Lunatea's Veil

Legacy
of Kain: Soul Reaver 2

Mario
Kart 64

Mass
Effect 2/Mass Effect 3

Sonic
the Hedgehog 2

System
Shock 2

Super
Probotector: Alien Rebels/Contra 3: Alien Wars '

Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time

Tony
Hawk's Pro Skater 2/3/4

Second best,
nigh the top stop

Fallout
2

Guilty
Gear XX/Accent Core

Ikaruga

Lode
Runner: The Legend Returns

Max
Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

Metroid
Prime/Super Metroid/Metroid Fusion

Portal
2

Star
Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords

Super
Mario World/Yoshi's Island/Super Mario 64/Super Mario Galaxy

First place,
second row

Baldur's
Gate 2: Shadows of Amn

Metal
Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty/Guns of the Patriot/Snake Eater

Silent
Hill 2/Shattered Memories/Silent Hill 3

Street
Fighter 2: World Warrior/Third Strike

The
Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask/A Link to the Past/Ocarina of Time/Wind
Waker

Mods

Since
mods often are community efforts, endlessly bettered and updated as a
living ofganism, attributing them dates or specific authors can be
hard. Sometimes it's possible, but for the sake of laziness I'll skip
that part completely and just go ahead and tell you about the game
modifications which have greatly contributed to my enjoyment of these
(RPG) games.

Shmups

Boy
did I used to love these. For the last five years or so, instead I've
dropped out of sight, seeing how what is produced these days is very
inspired by the Japanese arcade tradition. All right, so I used to
love that tradition – these days I do not, but my taste for
procedurally generated content and the opposite of punishing gameplay
is still strong, even if it doesn't take much to put me off.

Independent
Point & Clicks

High
nostalgia factor for me, almost from the get-go, for some reason,
even though I didn't exactly ”grow up” with SCUMM and LucasArts.
I've clicked a lot in my life, and in games made in Adventure Game
Studios especially, but I'm out of the loop also in this area. The
genre needs less weird puzzles and, brace yourself, ”meaningful
choices”. Or non-choices. But things that evoke some sense of
purpose and has life-affirming qualities beyond the isolation of a
puzzle.

2 Clicks Away
From Total Awesomeness

Anna (Vince
Twelve/xiigames)

Blackwell
Legacy (Dave Gilbert)

Blackwell
Unbound (Dave Gilbert)

Little
Girl In Underland (Lively Ivy/Erin Robinson)

Mental
Repair Inc (Renzo “Eshaktaar” Thönen)

Nelly
Cootalot (Alasdair Beckett)

Rorschach
(Collecting Smiles)

Technobabylon
Part 1, 2, 3 (James Dearden)

The
Dream Machine (Erik Zaring & Anders Gustafsson)

The
Shivah (Dave Gilbert)

The Trials of
Odysseus Kent (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)

1 Click Away
From Total Awesomeness

5
Days A Stranger (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)

7
Days a Skeptic (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)

A
House in California (Jake Elliott & friends)

A
Second Face (Jospin Le Woltaire)

Cirque
de Zale (Rebecca Clements)

Gateway
II (Anders Gustafsson)

Murder
In A Wheel (Renzo “Eshaktaar” Thönen)

The
Apprentice Deluxe (Herculean Effort Productions)

The
Clique

6
Days A Sacrifice (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)

Snakes
of Avalon (Igor Hardy/Ascovel & Baron/Alex
Van Wijst)

Spooks
(Lively Ivy/Erin Robinson)

Soviet
Unterzögersdorf (Monochrom)

The
Apprentice II: Knights Move (Herculean Effort Productions)

The
Journey Down: Over The Edge (Theodor Waern)

The
Marionette (Team Effigy/Auriond)

Trilby's
Notes (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)

Interactive
Fiction

A
genre wish I have held the highest hopes for, for many years now.
Mostly I get frustrated over the interface problems and prefer ”less
interaction” and more meaningful choices, which reflects what game
I've put on this list too. And although also this is a genre I am
utterly tired of right now, I have high hopes for what the future
will bring.

Close
Calls

Deadline,
or, Being Douglas Adams (Gunther Schmidl)

Intake
(Maddox Pratt)

The
Play (Deirdra Kiai)

Sickness
(increpare)

X

9:05
(Adam Cadre)

Aisle
(Sam Barlow)

Alabaster
(Emily Short)

Being
There (Jordan Magnuson)

Choice
of the Deathless (Max Gladstone)

Dual
Transform (Andrew Plotkin)

Hitchhiker's
Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas
Adams/Steve Meretzky)

In
the Changing Room (Jackie Craven)

Narcolepsy
(Adam Cadre)

The
Colder Light (Jon Ingold)

Xyz

Blue
Chairs (Chris Klimas)

Blue
Lacuna (Aaron A Reed)

De
Baron (Victor Gijsbers)

Depression
Quest (Zoe Quinn, Patrick Lindsey & Isaac Schankler)

First
Draft of the Revolution (Emily Short)

Galatea
(Emily Short)

Remembered
(Chris Klimas)

Ribbons
(J.D Berry)

Shade
(Andrew Plotkin)

Tapestry
(Daniel Ravipinto)

Xyzzy

18
Cadence (Aaron A. Reed)

Almost
Goodbye (Aaron A Reed)

Exhibition
(Ian Finley)

maybe
make some change (Aaron A Reed)

Photopia
(Adam Cadre)

Rameses
(Stephen Bond)

Shrapnel
(Adam Cadre)

Whom
the Telling Changed (Aaron
A Reed)

Multiplayer
(3+) Games

Games to play with cherished
friends, or games through which one makes new friends (and enemies).
Get your ass over into the couch/in front of the keyboard and let's
boot this shit and a couple of beers up!